The course begins, and so does the year. For me, making resolutions is something that happens now, not in January. When the last week of August arrives, I have this click moment and ask myself: how do I want my work routine to be from now until July? Whether it ends up being how I envisioned it, that’s another story. Because if life has taught me anything, it’s that you can make all the plans you want, but nope; a 180-degree turn and two cups of something you didn’t expect. But hey, let it not be said that I don’t think beyond tomorrow.
But none of that. If I had done it that way, I wouldn’t be here today. Or who knows. Maybe I’d still be on this same H6 bus crossing the city of Barcelona, but I’d be someone else, heading somewhere other than this studio.
I’ve never been one to plan long term. Neither long nor even medium term. That’s probably what unites many people from the same generation and, why not say it, social class. Many of us entered the job market in the midst of the 2008 economic crisis, and that shaped our expectations: cling to any job to pay rent, food, and parties, and find time wherever you can to do what you love most. I made logos for acquaintances and came up with posters. I’d upload them to Flickr, and I was happy.
I didn’t start in this line of work any differently, even though I believed that to officially dedicate yourself to design, you needed: a good network of contacts (preferably from a well-off background), a nice cushion in your bank account, or a sponsor — call it a sponsor, call it family, call it EuroMillion — to rent a space and renovate it, buy computers, hire staff, open the shutters, and wait, with The Shins playing in the background, for the first client to call.
But none of that. If I had done it that way, I wouldn’t be here today. Or who knows. Maybe I’d still be on this same H6 bus crossing the city of Barcelona, but I’d be someone else, heading somewhere other than this studio.
Warm regards from H6,
Ingrid
